Mine doesn't grind 2nd but it's pretty notchy sometimes. I changed the trans fluid and it was better for a few days until the trans fluid sheared down and "settled in". Now it's the same.

Bringing this back from the dead, the fresh oil the dealer put a year ago in the tranny didn't do smack in the long run. Like M3PO said, it goes back to being notchy. So last weekend I took the car in for its annual low mileage oil change (free under extended maintenance) and I had the tech drive the car. To my disbelieve he said the transmission is hard to go in and crunches from 1-2 and 3-2, and the clutch feels funny. So I made an appointment for Wednesday to have the foreman drive it as well, per my SA instructions. Good thing they had documented a year ago I was having issues. I noticed it helped this time, as it was not a new issue.

I shall update once I take it in. So far, the SA and tech are on my side, lets hope the foreman is as well and (crosses fingers) new tranny might be in order. If not, I have redline waiting to be put in.

I do have to say though, the shifting has worsened over time. Makes me re think getting a manual.

And before anyone says its because of the Shifter, it was doing this when the stock unit was in as well. Nothing changed after short throw shifter was installed.

Bringing this back from the dead, the fresh oil the dealer put a year ago in the tranny didn't do smack in the long run. Like M3PO said, it goes back to being notchy. So last weekend I took the car in for its annual low mileage oil change (free under extended maintenance) and I had the tech drive the car. To my disbelieve he said the transmission is hard to go in and crunches from 1-2 and 3-2, and the clutch feels funny. So I made an appointment for Wednesday to have the foreman drive it as well, per my SA instructions. Good thing they had documented a year ago I was having issues. I noticed it helped this time, as it was not a new issue.

I shall update once I take it in. So far, the SA and tech are on my side, lets hope the foreman is as well and (crosses fingers) new tranny might be in order. If not, I have redline waiting to be put in.

I do have to say though, the shifting has worsened over time. Makes me re think getting a manual.

And before anyone says its because of the Shifter, it was doing this when the stock unit was in as well. Nothing changed after short throw shifter was installed.

For my car, the shifting is notchy from 1-2 depending on my acceleration.
I posted a while back where when I shift from 1 - 2, my foot would be on the gas pedal at like 2-5% throttle while clutching in, then shift (not forcefully, but until shifter naturally falls into 2) then clutch out and slight throttle at the engagement point. Made my 1-2 smooth as butter.
I hope it's not a real grind issue but more of a driver issue because that'll be a cheaper fix haha

For my car, the shifting is notchy from 1-2 depending on my acceleration.
I posted a while back where when I shift from 1 - 2, my foot would be on the gas pedal at like 2-5% throttle while clutching in, then shift (not forcefully, but until shifter naturally falls into 2) then clutch out and slight throttle at the engagement point. Made my 1-2 smooth as butter.
I hope it's not a real grind issue but more of a driver issue because that'll be a cheaper fix haha

The grind is past 6k rpm. Below that I need to wait a few second before I shift, at which point the rip drops and I get a clunk when second goes in. It's really annoying and not what I expected from an M. All other cars I have ever owned shifted smooth at any rpm. I would expect the same from a $70k vehicle. Having said that, the previous owner clearly did not take care of the car, which is probably why I am now seeing these issues.

For my car, the shifting is notchy from 1-2 depending on my acceleration.
I posted a while back where when I shift from 1 - 2, my foot would be on the gas pedal at like 2-5% throttle while clutching in, then shift (not forcefully, but until shifter naturally falls into 2) then clutch out and slight throttle at the engagement point. Made my 1-2 smooth as butter.
I hope it's not a real grind issue but more of a driver issue because that'll be a cheaper fix haha

The grind is past 6k rpm. Below that I need to wait a few second before I shift, at which point the rip drops and I get a clunk when second goes in. It's really annoying and not what I expected from an M. All other cars I have ever owned shifted smooth at any rpm. I would expect the same from a $70k vehicle. Having said that, the previous owner clearly did not take care of the car, which is probably why I am now seeing these issues.

Lets see what tomorrow brings.

Might not be related to the previous owner as we are sll experience this problem. the 6mt is horrible in 1-2.

The grind is past 6k rpm. Below that I need to wait a few second before I shift, at which point the rip drops and I get a clunk when second goes in. It's really annoying and not what I expected from an M. All other cars I have ever owned shifted smooth at any rpm. I would expect the same from a $70k vehicle. Having said that, the previous owner clearly did not take care of the car, which is probably why I am now seeing these issues.

Lets see what tomorrow brings.

It could be your synchronizer going bad. I had this type of problem with my 3rd gear it would grind at high RPM going from 2nd to 3rd. BMW replace my transmission under warranty because my 3rd gear synchronizer went bad.

UPDATE: Just got back from the dealer. The foreman and I took the car out, and I voiced my concerns regarding the transmissions and the shifting. The guy was SUPER quite, almost creepy...he just mumbled a couple of "hum" and "huh". We get back to the dealer, walk in my SA office and he then says "Its definitely hard to get in gears at high RPM".

Car goes in for repairs in a couple of weeks Could be clutch or synchros. I will update when car goes in.

UPDATE: Just got back from the dealer. The foreman and I took the car out, and I voiced my concerns regarding the transmissions and the shifting. The guy was SUPER quite, almost creepy...he just mumbled a couple of "hum" and "huh". We get back to the dealer, walk in my SA office and he then says "Its definitely hard to get in gears at high RPM".

Car goes in for repairs in a couple of weeks Could be clutch or synchros. I will update when car goes in.

It's good to hear that they are acknowledging that there is an issue. I made the mistake of letting mine go out of warranty.

I have noticed that if I drive it hard it shifts much better.

My issues are mostly at low RPM (notchiness), but recently, I have ground 2nd gear twice badly at high RPM.

I have posted this elsewhere but changing the clutch fluid (surprisingly) made it quite a bit better.

It's good to hear that they are acknowledging that there is an issue. I made the mistake of letting mine go out of warranty.

I have noticed that if I drive it hard it shifts much better.

My issues are mostly at low RPM (notchiness), but recently, I have ground 2nd gear twice badly at high RPM.

I have posted this elsewhere but changing the clutch fluid (surprisingly) made it quite a bit better.

Soooo...SA just called me. They acknowledge there is an internal issue with the transmission and they have authorized a new one!!!! Will come in next week. Gotta love CPO...$50. Oh ans I asked about the clutch as well, being that the car is an 08 and they stated the car was not disassembled yet so they could not check on the clutch. I did say that should there be a clutch issue, i want to provide one of my own, as the BMW ones are too expensive. SA said there should be no issue, however should there be a problem with the clutch later down the road, they would not warranty it. I'm OK with that, i can get it done somewhere else. cheaper, seeing how OEM clutches are extremely expensive...but you cant beat free labor.

I have to wonder whether the newer models have the same issues. Driving my MY2013 in Germany I did not notice any 1-2 issues at all (granted I was not doing high-RPMs due to break-in). I actually thought the 1-2 was smoother than my E46 M3... hopefully I'm not soon in the same boat with you guys However I wish you the best of luck with the dealer repairs, let us know if it fixes it for you!

Soooo...SA just called me. They acknowledge there is an internal issue with the transmission and they have authorized a new one!!!! Will come in next week. Gotta love CPO...$50. Oh ans I asked about the clutch as well, being that the car is an 08 and they stated the car was not disassembled yet so they could not check on the clutch. I did say that should there be a clutch issue, i want to provide one of my own, as the BMW ones are too expensive. SA said there should be no issue, however should there be a problem with the clutch later down the road, they would not warranty it. I'm OK with that, i can get it done somewhere else. cheaper, seeing how OEM clutches are extremely expensive...but you cant beat free labor.

Congrats! Which clutch would you get? I actually like the OEM clutch quite a bit.

It's good to hear that they are acknowledging that there is an issue. I made the mistake of letting mine go out of warranty.

I have noticed that if I drive it hard it shifts much better.

My issues are mostly at low RPM (notchiness), but recently, I have ground 2nd gear twice badly at high RPM.

I have posted this elsewhere but changing the clutch fluid (surprisingly) made it quite a bit better.

I've notice when the car is cold it's hard to shift and the change is crunchy. but once the car warms up it is smooth as and I really enjoy the manual. Most often in city traffic I shift from 1 to 3 which also helps.

I've notice when the car is cold it's hard to shift and the change is crunchy. but once the car warms up it is smooth as and I really enjoy the manual. Most often in city traffic I shift from 1 to 3 which also helps.

That was definitely true on my E46, I suspect it will be similar in the E92.

Congrats! Which clutch would you get? I actually like the OEM clutch quite a bit.

BMW did not yet state if the clutch needs replacement. The car is not yet torn down for repairs, it will be next week when the tranny comes in. I wanted to get the Spec Super Twin, seeing how the OEM flywheel is really heavy and want to lighten up things. From the look of things, OEM clutch is $3k vs $1.7k for Spec.

I used to have a light weight Flywheel on my GTI 1.8T and it made a HUGE difference in acceleration. OEM was 40lb and new one was 15lb.

AussieM3, my car is actually butter smooth to shift when cold, and gets super notchy when warmed up and get progressively worse as the tranny heats up..weird.

BMW did not yet state if the clutch needs replacement. The car is not yet torn down for repairs, it will be next week when the tranny comes in. I wanted to get the Spec Super Twin, seeing how the OEM flywheel is really heavy and want to lighten up things. From the look of things, OEM clutch is $3k vs $1.7k for Spec.

I used to have a light weight Flywheel on my GTI 1.8T and it made a HUGE difference in acceleration. OEM was 40lb and new one was 15lb.

AussieM3, my car is actually butter smooth to shift when cold, and gets super notchy when warmed up and get progressively worse as the tranny heats up..weird.

... AussieM3, my car is actually butter smooth to shift when cold, and gets super notchy when warmed up and get progressively worse as the tranny heats up..weird.

It's weird ... I really hate it when it's cold. But boy, when the temperature it's at its optimum the whole car comes alive. Same applies to the engine. When it's cold it's a bugger. And with all the bearing issues with the s85 and some on the s65, I try and upshift to 3 and 5th to keep the revs down and it also goes a long way to help with driving. I notice when I first start the car the kangaroo hop is really bad when shifting to 2. So I skip 2, and 1 to 3 and 5 which keep the revs under 3k rpm untill engine oil temperature goes up. A few things I do to keep any issues down.